If you recognise that “our squabbles are produced by an
irreconcilable difference of ideological roots”—that the
same applies to the S.R.s (that it is the same with the
Cadets—Vekhi—this you did not add, but there can be
no doubt about it)—that there is being created a
reformist (apt word!) party—then you cannot say both to the
liquidator and to his enemy: “Both of you are squabblers.”

In that case the business of those who have understood
the ideological roots of the “squabble”, without taking
part in it, is to help the masses to discover the roots, and
not to justify the masses for regarding the disputes as “a
private matter between the generals”.

We “leaders have not written a single clear book, not
a single sensible pamphlet”.... Untrue. We wrote as best
we could. No less clearly, no less sensibly, than before.
And we have written a lot. There have been cases when
we wrote against people without any “squabbling” (against
Vekhi[1]
against
Chernov,[3] against
Rozhkov,[2]
etc.). [Do
you see all the issues of Nevskaya Zvezda?]

... “The result of this: among the workers in Russia
there are a great number of good ... young people, but they
are so furiously irritated with those abroad”....
This is a
fact; but it is not the fault of the “leaders”, it is the result
of the detachment, or, more truly, the tearing asunder
of Russia and the emigrant centres. What has been tornasunder must be tied together again, and to abuse the leaders
is cheap and popular, but of little use ... “that they dissuade
the workers from taking part in the conference”....

What conference? The one the liquidators are now calling?
Why, we ourselves are dissuading them too! Isn’t there
some misunderstanding on your part about
this?[4]

I have read that Amfiteatrov has written, in some Warsaw
paper,[5] if I am not mistaken, in favour of boycotting the
Fourth Duma? Do you happen to have this article? Send
it me, I will return it.

Things are warming up in the Baltic Fleet! I had a visit
in Paris (this is between ourselves) by a special delegate
sent by a meeting of the sailors and Social-Democrats.
What’s lacking is organisation—it’s enough to make one
weep!! If you have any officer contacts, you should make
every effort to arrange something. The sailors are in a
fighting mood, but they may all perish again in vain.

Your articles in Zaprosy Zhizni were not too good. It’s
a strange journal, by the way—liquidationist–
Trudovik-Vekhi.
A “classless reformist” party just about sums it up....

You ask why I am in Austria. The C.C. has organised
a Bureau here (between ourselves): the frontier is close by,
we make use of it, it’s nearer to Petersburg, we get the
papers from there on the third day, it’s become far easier
to write to the papers there, co-operation with them goes
better. There is less squabbling here, which is an
advantage. There isn’t a good library, which is a disadvantage.
It’s hard without books.

Notes

[3]Reference seems to be to L. B. Kamenev’s article “Ob
obyazannostyakh demokrata (otvet V. Chernovu)” “(On the Duties of a
Democrat [A Reply to V. Chernov]”), published in Nos. 8–9 of
Prosveshcheniye (Enlightenment) in July–August 1912.

[4]Reference is to the liquidators’ so-called August Conference, which
was held in Vienna in August 1912. This conference was responsible
for the forming of the anti-Party August bloc, organised by
Trotsky.

[5]Lenin has in mind the newspaper Warsaw Latest News, published
from July 13 to August 19, 1912 under the editorship of V. N.
Chudovskaya. A. Amfiteatrov was a contributor.